I was there when Babri mosque was razed, not Shiv Sena: Fadnavis

Mumbai, May 01: Launching a full-blown attack on the Shiv Sena on the issue of Hindutva, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said he was present when the Babri mosque was brought down, and claimed that no leader from the Sena was there when it happened.

Addressing BJP's rally here, Fadnavis also claimed that he was in Badaun jail for 18 days while doing 'kar seva' for the Ram temple construction purpose.

The former Maharashtra chief minister's attack on the Shiv Sena comes in the wake of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party asking where the BJP leaders were when parts of the mosque were razed in the early 1990s in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya.

"They asked the other day where were we hiding when the Babri mosque was brought down...they got scared like hell when they were asked to remove loudspeakers from mosques and are now claiming that they brought down the Babri mosque," Fadnavis said.

He further asked the Shiv Sena where its leaders were when the structure was brought down.

"I am saying with pride that, yes, I was there to bring the structure down. This Devendra Fadnavis was there to bring the structure down. Not only this, this Devendra Fadnavis spent 18 days in the Badaun jail before that for doing kar seva for the Ram temple," he added.

Tell me which leader from Maharashtra had gone to Ayodhya when the mosque was brought down? Had anyone gone? No Shiv Sena leader was present there, Fadnavis further said.

Attacking the MVA government, Fadnavis also said that reciting Hanuman Chalisa has amounted to sedition in Maharashtra.

He was apparently referring to the action taken against MP Navneet Rana and her MLA-husband Ravi Rana recently after they insisted on reciting 'Hanuman Chalisa' outside 'Matoshree' - Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's private residence in suburban Bandra here.